I decided that I wanted to become a teacher when I was in fifth grade. I attended John J. McGlaughlin Cumberland Hill Elementary School from kindergarten through fifth grade. Some of my most favorite, and best childhood memories came from that school, but that is not to say that is where my best education took place. Going to public school in my town had a "hit or miss" mindset. Either you were lucky and were assigned to an amazing teacher for the year, or you weren't so lucky and you were assigned to what my mom liked to call a "dud teacher." I had my fair share of dud teachers throughout my six years attending elementary school. My second grade teacher neglected to teach us our times tables, my fourth grade teacher used to banish students to the back of the class if they called out in class without a proper hand raised in the air. Being an enthusiastic student, and having parents who really pushed me to do well in school contributed to my success through school. But I had teachers who would shut my drive down. In my third grade year I raised my hand to tell my teacher that there was a spelling error on the white board. I remember being so proud of myself for realizing this common error and couldn't wait to show that I knew how to fix the problem. When I raised my hand to tell my teacher and when he called on me for my statement, he ended up scolding me for calling out his spelling error in class instead of praising me for knowing how to spell carnival as a second grader. Similar things happened throughout my schooling years. I was placed in the back corner of my fourth grade class more times than I can count. I liked to answer questions, but I had a bad habit of calling out. Being banished to the back of the classroom by myself, did not teach me a lesson but instead crushed my drive to respond in class. Bad occurrence after bad occurrence came about in my early schooling. That was until I reached fifth grade and met my teacher Mrs. Swiszcz.
By the time I reached fifth grade, I was discouraged with school. I was bored with a lot of my work, and I started to "goof off." I was a rambunctious child and some teachers just didn't like to deal with me. I literally used to bug my teachers for extra work. When I say that I was bored, I really was bored. Being an elementary student, added with not being challenged, added with having too much energy, added with being bored, equals a really restless child. I came into my fifth grade class with an attitude that it was going to be easy, and it was going to be like the rest of my school years. I was already an obnoxious student with a slight bit of an attitude, and to add to it, I ended up with my best friends in the same class as me. I was prepared to throw aside the easy books that were behind my level, and I was ready to start passing notes to my friends in class. The first week of school came though and my I got knocked down so fast I couldn't even see straight. My teacher was mean! And, she gave me back more attitude than I gave her. It was a power struggle at first but one of the best years of education I ever received was in my fifth grade year, and I owe it all to Mrs. Swiszcz.
In elementary school there was always reading checks. You would receive this small book made of thin paper, and you would have to read it aloud to your teacher and then answer comprehension questions. The point was to check for student's reading levels, and I always passed these with flying colors. I loved to read as a young student, and still do today. When I was younger, and when I had a lot more free time, I would literally read everyday for at least a couple of hours. The first reading check arrived in my new fifth grade class and I was excited to show my "mean" teacher that I was the best at these checks. As usual, I passed with flying colors. But that was because we were getting tested on a third grade level. As fifth graders we were supposed to pass, it was supposed to be easy, but I didn't know that at the time. Time went on and my teacher could tell that I was bored. As the first month of school went on I fell into my usual routine. Fool around in class, go home and half finish the mindless homework, come to school the next day and fool around again. It was a viscous cycle. Mrs. Swiszcz became aware of this behavior that I portrayed right away. But instead of throwing me in the corner of the classroom, or neglecting to call on me, she did something very different. She embarrassed me. And for a young student who thought she knew it all, I was completely knocked off my high horse. She was teaching the class a new lesson in math. It had to do with significant figures and I had no clue what they were. When the class was finished guessing the answers, she called on me to name the answers I had on my page. Obviously, I had them all wrong and I was so embarrassed that the class witnessed my stupidity. After that incident, that was it. I was determined to prove to my teacher that I was as smart as her and her significant figures.
My fifth grade year went by so quickly. I ended up establishing the greatest relationship with my teacher. She challenged me, took a liking to me, and helped me along the way. I was never a math student but she taught me how to be one. I loved to read and when she picked up on that I went from reading from an easy third grade level as a fifth grader, to an eighth grade level as a fifth grader. She challenged our class to learning by means of friendly competition. We had milk crates full of logic problems, and sticker charts of who read the most books. I soaked in as many academic opportunities as I could. My math scores went up, my comprehension levels went up, but most importantly, my confidence went up. I had never had a teacher that believed in me before Mrs. Swiszcz. Most of them just pushed me aside. Mrs. Swiszcz realized that I wasn't the way I was because I didn't like school, I was the way I was because I felt as though school didn't like me. All I needed was encouragement and to be challenged. She gave me both of those things. She gave me stern instructions about not calling out in class, but still praised me for having the right answer. She reminded me to read everyday, to learn everyday, and to never let someone tell me that "I couldn't do math."
I decided to become a teacher when I was in fifth grade. I decided that because of Mrs. Swiszcz. I want to give to students what she gave to me. Encouragement, challenges, a hand up. Mrs. Swiszcz taught me more than just academics. Even though I still use some of the same study skills that I learned in that class to do this day, and I still do sudoku puzzles every week to keep my mind active. She taught me to be proud of my achievements and to be confident in myself. Now in college I still think about my fifth grade year. When I'm feeling discouraged all I have to do is think of my old teacher. I've come a long way from calling out in class and being sent to the corner. I owe it all to her.
By the time I reached fifth grade, I was discouraged with school. I was bored with a lot of my work, and I started to "goof off." I was a rambunctious child and some teachers just didn't like to deal with me. I literally used to bug my teachers for extra work. When I say that I was bored, I really was bored. Being an elementary student, added with not being challenged, added with having too much energy, added with being bored, equals a really restless child. I came into my fifth grade class with an attitude that it was going to be easy, and it was going to be like the rest of my school years. I was already an obnoxious student with a slight bit of an attitude, and to add to it, I ended up with my best friends in the same class as me. I was prepared to throw aside the easy books that were behind my level, and I was ready to start passing notes to my friends in class. The first week of school came though and my I got knocked down so fast I couldn't even see straight. My teacher was mean! And, she gave me back more attitude than I gave her. It was a power struggle at first but one of the best years of education I ever received was in my fifth grade year, and I owe it all to Mrs. Swiszcz.
In elementary school there was always reading checks. You would receive this small book made of thin paper, and you would have to read it aloud to your teacher and then answer comprehension questions. The point was to check for student's reading levels, and I always passed these with flying colors. I loved to read as a young student, and still do today. When I was younger, and when I had a lot more free time, I would literally read everyday for at least a couple of hours. The first reading check arrived in my new fifth grade class and I was excited to show my "mean" teacher that I was the best at these checks. As usual, I passed with flying colors. But that was because we were getting tested on a third grade level. As fifth graders we were supposed to pass, it was supposed to be easy, but I didn't know that at the time. Time went on and my teacher could tell that I was bored. As the first month of school went on I fell into my usual routine. Fool around in class, go home and half finish the mindless homework, come to school the next day and fool around again. It was a viscous cycle. Mrs. Swiszcz became aware of this behavior that I portrayed right away. But instead of throwing me in the corner of the classroom, or neglecting to call on me, she did something very different. She embarrassed me. And for a young student who thought she knew it all, I was completely knocked off my high horse. She was teaching the class a new lesson in math. It had to do with significant figures and I had no clue what they were. When the class was finished guessing the answers, she called on me to name the answers I had on my page. Obviously, I had them all wrong and I was so embarrassed that the class witnessed my stupidity. After that incident, that was it. I was determined to prove to my teacher that I was as smart as her and her significant figures.
My fifth grade year went by so quickly. I ended up establishing the greatest relationship with my teacher. She challenged me, took a liking to me, and helped me along the way. I was never a math student but she taught me how to be one. I loved to read and when she picked up on that I went from reading from an easy third grade level as a fifth grader, to an eighth grade level as a fifth grader. She challenged our class to learning by means of friendly competition. We had milk crates full of logic problems, and sticker charts of who read the most books. I soaked in as many academic opportunities as I could. My math scores went up, my comprehension levels went up, but most importantly, my confidence went up. I had never had a teacher that believed in me before Mrs. Swiszcz. Most of them just pushed me aside. Mrs. Swiszcz realized that I wasn't the way I was because I didn't like school, I was the way I was because I felt as though school didn't like me. All I needed was encouragement and to be challenged. She gave me both of those things. She gave me stern instructions about not calling out in class, but still praised me for having the right answer. She reminded me to read everyday, to learn everyday, and to never let someone tell me that "I couldn't do math."
I decided to become a teacher when I was in fifth grade. I decided that because of Mrs. Swiszcz. I want to give to students what she gave to me. Encouragement, challenges, a hand up. Mrs. Swiszcz taught me more than just academics. Even though I still use some of the same study skills that I learned in that class to do this day, and I still do sudoku puzzles every week to keep my mind active. She taught me to be proud of my achievements and to be confident in myself. Now in college I still think about my fifth grade year. When I'm feeling discouraged all I have to do is think of my old teacher. I've come a long way from calling out in class and being sent to the corner. I owe it all to her.